Yes, his house and not his apartment. I’d moved in with him full time by then — every stitch of clothes and every last shoe. The Drake safehouse had been fully furnished when I moved in, which had been helpful since I didn’t have any furniture to my name when Able was killed. Now, it was nice because we didn’t have two sets of dishes, too many sofas, or a bedroom suite I preferred to use over his. Well, I brought some of my baking equipment, but no dishes.
He turned one of his spare bedrooms into a closet for me. No, more than a closet. He had Frost’s people build cabinets and put in shoe racks and clothes racks and drawers. Also, they installed mirrors at the right angles so I could see my front, back, and side just by turning my head while standing still. I had more room than I needed, and I never in a million years thought that would happen.
He also had a jetted tub put into his master bath, just for me.
And a six-foot round throw rug in his huge man-cave was now what I had to stay on when he horsewhipped me. No need for a crude circle made with painter’s tape. Someday, I’d probably manage to stay on it, but I hadn’t yet. I was always offered a reward if I stayed on it and consequences if I didn’t, but he was never upset with me for failing. The consequences were often orgasm denial for a week or two. The last time had been a full month, but if I’d been able to pull it off, I’d have been able to orgasm whenever I wanted for three months — even during scenes.
The MC’s neighborhood had a huge wall around it. Getting through the gate required a PIN and a fingerprint. It was well outside of town, but the drive wasn’t any farther than the drive to my old house had been. I’d gotten a little spoiled with the short drive to his apartment, but that was okay. I much preferred living here.
It was Wednesday, so D would be home between two thirty and three in the morning. I carried a glass of wine to the bathroom and took a long bath, but I texted him first. I had a great day. I hope you’re having one too.
He didn’t like it when things escalated to the point he had to throw someone out, and yet, he enjoyed tossing them out on their ass. I got it now. The goal was to de-escalate a situation so action wasn’t necessary, but when it became necessary… damn, it was fun. It wasn’t just the rush of taking him down, either. I’d helped a terrified woman not feel so afraid. I’d protected her. It felt good.
Sophia called after I was out of the tub, and I sent the secure video to the large screen television on the wall. D likes his tech toys.
“Is that one of Dementor’s shirts?” she asked.
“Yeah. He likes to see me in them, and they’re the perfect size to sleep in. How are my nephew and nieces?”
“Too smart for their own good, as usual. Aaron tells me you had some excitement. I read through your report and watched the video. You did good.”
“Thanks. I was pretty stoked. It felt good to protect someone and help make them feel safe.”
“And you aren’t even a dragon yet. That instinct will get stronger once we change you.”
“Really?” I hadn’t considered that. “I thought I’d be the same person, just two animal forms?”
“Oh, no. The dragon’s psyche becomes part of you. More territorial, more possessive, and it took me a while to gain control of my temper. Dragons are quick to anger, and I wasn’t used to that. I’d been raised to be on an even keel at all times.” Her smile grew even bigger and she added. “Also, dragons like shiny, pretty things. I can’t imagine what that’s going to do to your shoe and jewelry habit.”
“I haven’t bought new jewelry in months!” I protested with a laugh. I couldn’t say that about shoes, though. I’d bought new dressy sandals over the weekend, actually.
But then I got serious with the conversation again. “Will it change the dynamic between me and Dementor? I haven’t even told him I’ll be changed into a dragon at some point. Will our relationship be the same?”
“It will and it won’t. Aaron didn’t know to warn me about the psychological changes, so I had to figure it out myself. Now, we know what to tell swans when we turn them. Your morals will stay the same, but your identity won’t. Swans can’t accidentally change when someone confronts them, and even if we could, it isn’t like we’d scare them so badly they’d drop to their knees and beg for their life. However, a dragon can change at will. I mean, you can’t around humans because of the Concilio, but the knowledge you could turn into a house-sized dragon and either burn them to a crisp or eat them changes your whole attitude. Toss in the impatience, quick temper, and other dragon personality traits, and it can take a while to find a balance.”
“Aaron seems like he has infinite patience.”
“He’s ancient. You’ll need to look to a younger dragon to understand.”
“I only know you. I assumed the changes were because you’re Queen now. You’re powerful now, and they went out of their way to keep you naïve and powerless, before.”
“Much of it is, but being a dragon...” She lifted her arms and held them out a little. “The first time I flew as a dragon, everything changed. You need to talk to your grizzly bear about it. He’s the biggest and most formidable now, but you’re going to be after the change. The dynamics shifted between Aaron and me, but it made us something closer to equals. It’s going to completely flip the balance between the two of you.”
“I’m not ready to talk to him about it yet.”
“Make it sooner rather than later. He needs time to get used to the idea.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Dementor
She was sound asleep when I got home, but she didn’t have to be at work until three the next afternoon, so it was safe to wake her for a little playtime. The spa’s dungeons are usually booked during the day and in the evenings, but they’d be empty at three in the morning.
Other than the cinnamon oil, I hadn’t messed with her clit for anything beyond mild play. After the things Frost had told me, I wasn’t comfortable pushing too far, but it was time I got us both past that. Or, maybe it was that I needed to get myself past it. As far as I knew, she wasn’t opposed to extreme clit torture. I’d never tried though, so I had no idea.
If she was, she’d have to explain it to me. We needed this information out in the open between us.
The MC’s neighborhood is one hundred and fifty acres and completely fenced in. We’re protected by wrought iron, concrete, and brickwork. The spa is within the fence, though there are barriers to keep customers away from the residences, and it has its own entrance. For security and legal reasons, the BDSM rooms are in the basement of one of the residences, with hidden tunnels leading to it from the spa. We’d head to the spa from my basement, and then the purple room.
But, she hadn’t been voted in to see those secrets yet. My fault, because I hadn’t asked my brothers to vote. They’d probably give her the okay, but I’d never asked the club to give a woman that much trust, and I was hesitant to do so until Ember had been with Drake Security a while. I was worried she’d get into a situation with divided loyalties.
So, I made my way into the bedroom and put her wrist cuffs on her. This wasn’t the first time I’d put them on her while she slept, so she roused a little but didn’t completely wake. I fastened her ankle cuffs on and put a carabiner between them, sat her up, connected her wrists behind her back, and pulled a bondage hood over her head.